NFL Combine 2014: Lewan sizzles while Kouandjio fizzles

Offensive tackles and tight ends went through workouts Saturday in the first of four days of on-field drills at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

Through the years the combine has proven to be critical in determining a player's draft stock. Many players who entered the combine not highly regarded by scouts and general managers found their draft stock much more favorable following an impressive 40 time and/or strong performances in other drills. Conversely, highly-touted prospects prior to the combine have seen their stock tumble with disappointing efforts.

On Saturday, while no one seemed to come out of nowhere to grab the headlines, there were a number of players who solidified their draft status and others who improved their stock. There were also poor showings or slightly disappointing outings that could hinder a player's draft position come May.

In no particular order, here are three players that sizzled in Indy -- and three that fizzled and might have at least a few front offices doing some reevaluation.

Sizzle

Taylor Lewan, T, MichiganJake Matthews (Texas A&M) and Greg Robinson (Auburn) are widely regarded as the top tackles in the 2014 draft and neither did anything Saturday to dampen that thought process. However, Lewan likely elevated his stock to put his name in the same conversation as Matthews and Robinson. It was not just that the left tackle shined in the 40, which he did with a 4.87 time that topped all linemen, but the former standout at Michigan (48 career starts) also displayed fluidity and great balance in position drills and other tests. To consider Lewan's effort to be the best overall regardless of position on Saturday would elicit little if any argument. Most draft boards have Lewan going to the Giants at No. 12 or the Rams at No. 13. That might now be his worst-case scenario.

Xavier Su'a-filo, G, UCLAOne of the things the combine can do is validate the "potential" label. In the case of Su'a-filo, that means the talk of him being a potential first-round selection may have become reality with a strong performance on Saturday. His 5.04 time in the 40 was the second-fastest among guards and he was strong in the other drills. Those he played with Su'a-filo at UCLA would certainly not be surprised. This is a player who started as a freshman in 2009 before embarking on a two-year Mormon mission. He then returned to Westwood and played like he never missed a beat. On Saturday, he lived up to a bit of the hype that has been building.

C.J. Fiedorowicz, TE, IowaSometimes a player can stand out not only for his own performance, but also for what those around him fail to do. The player that is generally rated as the fifth-best tight end in the class did not hurt or help himself with a 40 time of 4.76 that sixth best at his position. However, Fiedorowicz was strong in many other drills and his body of work would have to be regarded as very strong as well. Between other top tight ends such as Eric Ebron (North Carolina) and Troy Niklas (Note Dame) not participating in all drills and Jace Amaro (Texas Tech) having a bad day outside the weight room, Fiedorowicz's showing may have appeared even better thanks to the so-so effort of the tight ends in general.

Bonus: Michael Sam, DE, MissouriSam and his fellow defensive linemen do not go through drills until Monday. But for anybody that listened to his press conference, Sam may have put on the most impressive performance of the day.

Fizzle

Antonio Richardson, T, TennesseeSure, Richardson was among the bench-press leaders with 36 reps of 225 pounds. He also feels that he is a first-rounder and is -- barely -- among a few projections. Unfortunately, it could be a lengthy wait until his name is called during the draft based on negative reports concerning his knees. Such injury problems followed Richardson around during his career at Tennessee, where he did start every game the past two seasons. There are ways to help quiet injury chatter and that is to put on a show at the combine. While he was strong on the bench, a 5.30 time in the 40 was far from impressive.

Cyrus Kouandjio, T, AlabamaMany draft pundits have the former Crimson Tide star rated in the top five among tackles. He certainly did not appear to be a top-five prospect on Saturday. A late-first round projection on some draft boards, Kouandjio's 5.59 time in the 40 was the slowest among the 40 linemen that participated in the drill. He was otherwise slow moving his feet with at times poor balance. In addition, he checked in with only 21 reps in the 225-pound bench press. It's safe to say a few tackles passed him in the eyes of many GMs, given his performance.

Jace Amaro, TE, Texas TechIt is not as though anything really bad happened with Amaro. In fact, he was very strong with the bench press Friday. In what was a ho-hum day overall for the tight ends, Amaro had a chance to shine brightly in on-field drills. But it didn't happen that way. Instead, he ran a 4.74 in the 40 that was slower than some expected and he was sloppy with dropped passes. His effort on the day left observers wanting more, especially with the likes of Ebron and Niklas not participating in all events. It may have been nothing more than a bad day, but it was just that nonetheless.